India asked to provide list of illegal Bangladeshis, if any, on its soil: FM Momen

TIL Desk/World/London/ Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said his country has requested India to provide a list of any Bangladesh nationals living illegally in the country and it will allow them to return.

Responding to a question on India’s National Register of Citizenship (NRC), Momen, who cancelled his visit to India on Thursday citing his busy schedule, said Bangladesh-India relations are normal and “very sweet” and they will not be affected. He said India has termed the NRC process as its internal matter and assured Dhaka that it would not affect Bangladesh.

He rejected speculation of “pushback” attempts by India, saying some Indian nationals are illegally entering Bangladesh through middlemen due to economic reasons. “But if anybody other than our citizens enters Bangladesh, we will send them back,” he told media here when asked about reports that some people are illegally entering the country through borders with India. Momen said Bangladesh has requested New Delhi to provide a list of Bangladeshis living illegally in India, “if any”, to be repatriated.